Psychopathological Selection in Status Attainment: A Life Course Perspective

Hyun Sik Kim, University of Wisconsin at Madison
Chioun Lee, Arizona State University

Using the National Child Development Study and a Generalized Linear Mixed Model, we have explored psychological selection effects in social class mobility over the life course up until midlife. We find that (1) those selection effects are operating throughout life course; (2) that psychopathological selection effects are most pronounced at the time when people start their own job careers ; (3) that there is no sufficient evidence to support differential selection effects of psychological syndromes by class of origin across the life course except one interaction effect only at age 23. Only at age 23, upper class compared to middle class is more likely to experience downward mobility as psychopathological symptoms get worse. However, there is no evidence to give precedence to drift hypothesis over residue hypothesis and vise versa. These results can be interpreted as those two mechanisms are all operating throughout one’s life.